Songs that move my Spirit



"Music Soothes the Savage Beast"

In my humble opinion, music creation and appreciation are parts of what separate us from the lower level living animals.  Please understand that I am not advocating that we are the only animals who can do these things (whale songs, anyone?), but I shudder to think that any other living creatures in this world can be moved and swayed as much as human beings with music, but the saying "music soothes the savage beast" certainly comes from some truth.

Earlier on in life, I have been influenced musically by my parents, my older sister and my cousins who lived with our family in Jakarta when they were studying or starting out their careers.  Later on, outside influences include girlfriends, friends from school, from cub scouts and other circles but instead of moving me through trends of music, I found that I've been slowly adding to and expanding my musical tastes.

I would like to take this opportunity to share with whoever's out there in this cyber universe - songs that moves my spirit.  Some are more obscure than others but I hope that somehow this little musings will help open up opportunities for someone else to appreciate these timeless songs.

I will try to do one song per posting in order to go deeper into the song's backgrounds and other interesting tidbits and especially how the particular song affected me.  On with the show!

One by Metallica

This powerful anti-war song is the fourth song of the fourth studio album released by Metallica in 1988 titled "...And Justice For All".   The song was written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, the two primary composers in Metallica.

It opens with eerie battlefield sounds of artillery, helicopter and distant screams fading into a much more serene guitar intro by Hetfield which is then layered with a clean-toned guitar solo by Kirk Hammett.  Hetfield actually sings instead of screaming the lyrics in the beginning of this song!

The song picks up as Ulrich drums joins in, Hetfield's vocals and guitars sound become heavier but the song surprisingly becomes clean again.  The second Hammett solo kicks in, the heavy sound returns until the lyrics cut out.

This is when the music achieves transcendence for me.  The build up of the rat-tat-tat-tat machineguns-like energy of the two guitars with an energetic bass foundation and the legendary Ulrich double bass kicks combo from this one song really pushed Metallica upwards in my list of favorite rock bands. 

I never really headbanged seriously in the past before this song.  It was almost always trying not to be the square surrounded by the rockers kinda thing for me, but this song made me want to headbang hard - onlookers be damned.

All these before I saw the video......and then.....comes:  One - the video

"One" by Metallica Video screenshot (1989)

When I first read the lyrics of One, it was already powerful for me.  The anti-war message was loud and clear in my ears, but coming from Indonesia - I wasn't aware of the book and film which inspired the story of One - "Johnny Got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo.

When MTV aired One - the video in January 1989, I was already living & going to school in the States.  The imagery of the video includes scenes from the "Johnny" film and it reemphasized an even more powerful imagery for me.  The sight of Timothy Bottoms frantically morse coding with his entire body - screaming in silence - still sends chills up my spine when I recall it.  I actually went out and looked for the film and the book because of the music video.
 

Scene from "Johnny Got His Gun" (1971) - Written & Directed by Dalton Trumbo

Even as I read the book and watched the film, the powerful sound of the song One by Metallica reverberate through my core being and it made me shudder.  I don't believe I would have had the same experience with the story without the song One.

Hetfield's screaming the lyrics only gave me a clearer feeling of the anguish of the character John Bonham or anybody put in such a situation.  The horrors of war is much more graphic when you cut it down to individual experiences and I am so grateful that I have never had to go through anything of the sort.

"landmine has taken my speech,
taken my sight,
taken my hearing,
taken my arms,
taken my legs,
taken my soul,
left me with life in hell"

Life in hell indeed.  One is a song that will always move my spirit everytime I hear it.

15 Favorite Drummers (in no particular order)

Terry Bozio's Drumset - "WOW!!!"

I play the drums a little bit.  I used to play a lot more than I do now.  I used to think I was not too bad back then, but years of non-activity on the drums have taken its toll - as muscle memory can only help so much.  I have had 3 instructors in the past: Cendy Luntungan (Emerald, Java Jazz), Gilang Ramadhan (Krakatau, PIG, Java Jazz) & Philmon Haryadi.  I am very much influenced by Phil Collins, Jeff Porcaro, Vinnie Colaiuta & Billy Cobham - but I don't play anywhere nearly as good as they do - OBVIOUSLY.

I now like to list my 15 favorite drummers, in no particular order, as each bring their own uniqueness and gifts to the table and I greatly appreciate each of them in their own right.  So without further ado, here's the list:

  1.  Steve Smith
  2.  Dave Weckl
  3.  Vinnie Colaiuta
  4.  Jeff Porcaro
  5.  Neil Peart
  6.  Billy Cobham
  7.  John Bonham
  8.  Steve Gadd
  9.  Vinnie Paul
10.  Alex Van Halen
11.  Max Roach
12.  Art Blakey
13.  Buddy Rich
14.  Phil Ehart
15.  Phil Collins

I would love to take the time to discuss each particular drummer, their unique techniques and how they influence me as a (wanna-be) drummer and as a music listener in general, but it would take much more time than currently available for me now.  There are many more drummers whom I admire, but I think these guys give you a good idea on the kind of music I like.  Ciao

First Entry.....

I've recently lost a good friend, GK.  He's young, only 42.  He lives a healthy life, doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, doesn't really party all night (ever), doesn't overeat, maintains rigorous daily exercise and the whole nine yards.  Yet, he's the first one of our small group to go.  Godspeed my friend, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Between me & my buddy NS, we always joked that "Exercise Kills!!" and cite persons of prominence and/or fame who passed away during or right after exercising (many came to mind: James Fixx, Ray Ziel and closer to home are Benyamin S, Basuki, Adjie Masaid, etc) as prime examples why portly men like me & my bud are living and living well.

Well, when it's someone close to you then the joke sours pretty quickly and you start to think about your own mortality and what kind of legacy you are leaving behind.  Have you done enough for your family, have you done enough for your children, how do you want to be remembered, where do you want to be buried?  Grim thoughts but like I said, when reality smacks you in the face, you take stock of what you've done or what you haven't done.

That said, is what I'm doing now part of leaving a 'footprint'?  I googled my own name out of curiosity and looked at what popped out.  Mostly internet social networking stuff and not much else.  Doesn't really tell anybody who I am, what I like, what I dislike.  Not that a blog will always do that, mind you.  I thought it'll be eerie if when I'm gone, someone googled me up and thoughts that I left behind are available for them to see.  Technology is a boon and a curse at the same time, I have always thought.

On a lighter note, my Trike is being fixed & I'm hoping to Trike along happily every morning with my Nano. God knows I need the exercise, but I hope I can remain healthy as another good friend, DB, set an example of how incorrect exercise can hurt - He's immobile due to a pinched nerve in his spine.

Peace out, world! BigA is still around and kicking - blundering through life